EFT urges public to be vigilant

The LTTE had a total of 5 Zlins 143s, two were taken out by anti aircraft (AA) fire at Colombo and Katunayake, 2 were burned down by the LTTE themselves, and one was reported to have been taken out by an SLAF F-7 over Mullaitivu west. However, MI has cast doubt over the F-7 interception as no trace of the wreckage has been recovered, UAVs have not observed any aircraft debris and Wanni civilians arriving in cleared areas have reported that they have not seen any aircraft falling out of the sky. MI believes that TAF is planning another suicide attack on high profile targets in Colombo or its suburbs and is urging civilians to be vigilant of any such attack. MI believes that they have carried the remaining Zlin to the safe zone. Zlins can take off even from dirt tracks or graveled roads. In addition to the Zlin, the LTTE has taken an underwater vessel, a light helicopter (Robinson’s) and a high tech speed boat, all these of these are designated escape vehicles for the top leaders.

Electronic and print media had reported that LTTE were developing short range missiles and heavy gravity bombs with the assistance of mercenary Norwegians, EFT can confirm that the mercenaries were German and not Norwegians. A considerable numbers of mercenaries were in the LTTE payroll having arrived under the guise of “NGO workers” during the CFA days.

EFT can also confirm the execution of LTTE spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan (nom de guerre Marshall). Rasiah tried to flee to cleared areas with his family, however he was apprehended by LTTE intelligence cadres. A few days ago, SLA fired artillery at identified LTTE targets in Puthumathalan, a few cadres unable to withstand the barrage ran into the cleared areas and handed themselves to the SLA. Among the surrendered cadres is the driver of the former LTTE intelligence head (Pottu Amman). The driver now in Sri Lanka police custody confessed that he had worked for Pottu for 3 years and confirmed to the Police that Rasiah was executed by the intelligence unit for trying to desert the outfit. LTTE circles and the diaspora have been aware of Rasiah’s execution for quite a while now.

The battle for the remaining LTTE is now mostly fought with light arms and more often that not, direct fire is being used. The remaining LTTE territory is around 28 Sq Kms and only a few battalions are engaged in action with most kept in reserve and others conducting search and clear operations. The 55th was planning a lighting strike to clear the areas south of Chalai and arrive at the gates of the Safe Zone, however, this offensive was cancelled due to its risky nature. More conventional methods will be used to clear the remaining areas south of Chalai. The 55th Division Commander - Prasanna Silva - is an ex-Special Forces commander, he is known to use unconventional tactics.

Earlier, the leave policy for the SLA was 5 days for every 115 days duty, now it is 5 days for every 30 days duty, this speaks volumes of the SLA’s achievements and reflects the nature of the low intensity battles currently being fought. EFT would like to clarify that Special Forces (SF) is not a separate division, usually each division has 2 or 3 attached Commando units and 1 or 2 SF units along with offensive units, defensive units, Engineering Corps, Military Police, artillery units, signal corps, communication units etc. A division usually has around 12,500 troops, less than that it is a Task Force.

MI is fully aware that former Tiger cadres are coming along with the civilians, this is not seen as a threat as civilians after arriving in cleared areas are more than happy to identify and hand over the cadres. MI’s own surveillance is also used to distinguish between Tigers and ordinary civilians, using both these methods a total 420 cadres were arrested and sent over to rehabilitation camps after extracting information.

EFT